Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday backed President Bush’s plan for military tribunals to try top terrorists and said it’s “absolutely appropriate” – at a time when some of her fellow Democrats are denouncing the idea.

“I support the idea of military tribunals. I think it is absolutely appropriate. We are facing extraordinary times which demand extraordinary measures. We do have historic precedent,” she said.

“I think the idea of them, and certainly the principal purpose – which is to try people like bin Laden and his lieutenants or Mullah [Mohammed] Omar – is absolutely appropriate,” Clinton (D-N.Y.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Clinton – who credited Bush with doing “a great job in the war against terror” – added that she is waiting to see the rules and regulations spelled out.